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US Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, a senior member of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, called for a “Leahy Law” investigation into reports that the Azerbaijan armed forces, which annually receive millions of dollars in US military aid, committed gross violations of human rights during Baku’s April 2nd offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In remarks during an Armed Services hearing Thursday on the National Defense Authorization Act, Sanchez noted that she has reviewed credible allegations that units of the Azerbaijani military have committed gross violations of human rights.

“I believe that these blatant human rights violations warrant action on our part to direct our Secretary of Defense to work with our Secretary of State on an investigation on possible human rights violations. And I believe the US should conduct an investigation on whether the ‘Leahy Law’ is being violated by the Azerbaijani military,” stated Sanchez. “We, the United States, we are a leader on human rights and we cannot afford to support militaries that commit human rights violations.”

In her remarks, Sanchez cited sharp criticism of Azerbaijan’s human rights record and called attention to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s pardon and praise for Azerbaijani military officer Ramil Safarov, who axe-murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan while he slept during a NATO peacekeeping training program in Hungary, in 2004.

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